Personality in Adulthood, Second Edition A Five-Factor Theory Perspective

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Now in a revised and expanded second edition, this influential work argues for the enduring stability of personality across adult development. It also offers a highly accessible introduction to the five-factor model of personality. Critically reviewing different theories of personality and adult development, the authors explain the logic behind the scientific assessment of personality, present a comprehensive model of trait structure, and examine patterns of trait stability and change after age 30, incorporating data from ongoing cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. The second edition has been updated throughout with the authors' new findings, ideas, and interpretations, and includes a new chapter on cross-cultural research. It culminates in an additional new chapter that presents a comprehensive theory of personality grounded in the five-factor model.

Robert R. McCrae, PhD, is Research Psychologist at the Gerontology Research Center of the National Institute on Aging. He received his doctorate in personality psychology from Boston University in 1976, and has since conducted research on personality structure, assessment, and development. His recent work has centered on cross-cultural studies of personality. He has authored or coauthored over 250 articles and chapters, and with Paul T. Costa, Jr., he is author of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory.

Paul T. Costa, Jr., PhD, is Chief of the Laboratory of Personality and Cognition at the National Institute on Aging's Intramural Research Program in Baltimore, Maryland. His enduring interests are in the structure and measurement of personality and in lifespan development, psychopathology, and neurobiological bases of personality. He has authored or coauthored over 300 papers and chapters and has served as President of APA Divisions 5 and 20, the Association for Research in Personality, and the International Society for the Study of Individual Differences.

Facts and Theories of Adult Development

1

(19)

The Pendulum of Opinion on Personality Stability

3

(3)

In Search of a Phenomenon

6

(3)

A Note on Psychotherapy

9

(1)

When Does Adulthood Begin?

10

(1)

Other Views: Theories of Change

11

(9)

A Trait Approach to Personality

20

(17)

Perspectives on Human Nature

21

(3)

Basic Principles of Trait Psychology

24

(13)

How Many Traits? Which Ones?

29

(3)

The Quest for a Unified System

32

(2)

Natural Languages and the Five-Factor Model

34

(3)

Measuring Personality

37

(21)

From Concepts to Data

37

(3)

Self-Reports and Observer Ratings

40

(5)

A Questionnaire Measure: The NEO Personality Inventory

45

(7)

Facets of N, E, and O

47

(3)

Facets of A and C

50

(1)

Making Distinctions

51

(1)

The Comprehensiveness of the Five-Factor Model

52

(6)

The Search for Growth or Decline in Personality

58

(26)

Cross-Sectional Studies of Personality Differences

59

(7)

Sampling Bias

62

(2)

Cohort Effects

64

(2)

Longitudinal Designs: Tracking Changes over Time

66

(4)

Stability in the 16PF

67

(3)

Sequential Strategies: Avoiding Practice and Time Effects

70

(4)

An Integrated Approach

74

(4)

Recent Developments

78

(3)

Small, Slow Changes

78

(2)

Another Mystery

80

(1)

A Different Analysis

80

(1)

Implications: Debunking Some Myths of Aging

81

(3)

Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Personality and Aging

84

(14)

A Universal Structure

86

(4)

Adult Development across Cultures

90

(8)

History, Culture, and Cross-Sectional Comparisons

92

(2)

Some Possible Interpretations

94

(2)

Cross-Cultural Evidence on Stability

96

(2)

The Course of Personality Development in the Individual

98

(18)

Two Different Questions: Stability and Change in Groups and in Individuals